From mid-May through September, teams from the Health Department set traps across Kent County, targeting different species of mosquitoes that carry different diseases.
“In our laboratory at the health department, we separate them based on gender and mosquito species and then we send them to the state lab for vector-born disease testing.”
Supervising Sanitarian Brendan Earl says West Nile virus is the leading mosquito-borne disease.
Most infected people have no symptoms but one in five develop a flu-like illness and in rare cases it can lead to serious neurological issues.
West Nile virus was detected in mosquitoes in three zip codes so far this year in Kent County: 49507 (Grand Rapids,) 49544 (Walker,) and 49525 (Plainfield Township.)
“What’s a little bit more concerning is it has become a pattern for the last maybe five years that the date of detection - the first time we find infected mosquitoes - has slowly creeped up. With the changes in weather and the climate, we're detecting our virus earlier in the environment which prolongs the season that people can be exposed to it.”
To limit that exposure, health experts urge people to use insect repellent with DEET, avoid outdoor activity at dawn and dusk when mosquitoes are most active, and keep screens and gutters in good repair to prevent insects from getting into homes.
The Kent County Health Department is also giving out free mosquito dunks – large tablets to put in standing water that release bacterium to kill larvae where mosquitoes breed such as birdbaths and wading pools.
The dunks are available at the Environmental Desk on the Health Department's lower level of the main clinic on Fuller Avenue NE in Grand Rapids.
